Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Reveals Early Bitcoin Bet Funded His Lifestyle

Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of Telegram, has revealed that his early investment in Bitcoin not only reflected his belief in decentralized money but also helped sustain his lifestyle while running the messaging giant at a personal loss.

Speaking on the Lex Fridman Podcast this week, Durov said he first bought several thousand Bitcoin in 2013, when prices hovered around $700. He described his entry as buying at a “local maximum” and admitted he put in “a couple of million” at the time.

Durov Notes His Early Conviction in Bitcoin

While Bitcoin’s subsequent crash to under $200 prompted ridicule from some peers, Durov said he never considered selling. “I don’t care,” he recalled telling critics. “I believe in this thing. I think this is the way money should work. Nobody can confiscate your Bitcoin from you. Nobody can censor you for political reasons.”

The Russian-born tech entrepreneur added that his holdings became a lifeline. “Some people think if I’m able to rent nice locations or fly private, it’s because I somehow extract money from Telegram. But Telegram is a money-losing operation for me personally. Bitcoin is what allowed me to stay afloat.”

Looking ahead, Durov predicted Bitcoin could eventually reach $1 million per coin, citing governments’ relentless money printing as a driver. “Nobody’s printing Bitcoin,” he said. “It has predictable inflation and will stop being made at a certain point. Bitcoin is here to stay. All the fiat currencies remain to be seen.”

From Bitcoin to TON

Durov also discussed the Telegram Open Network (TON), a blockchain project initially developed in 2018–2019 to support Telegram’s hundreds of millions of users. He argued that Bitcoin and Ethereum lacked the scalability needed for such scale, while TON’s design used “shardchains” to distribute load across the network.

However, despite the technological breakthrough, U.S. regulatory barriers prevented Telegram from formally launching the project. It has since evolved independently as The Open Network (TON), now deeply integrated into the Telegram ecosystem. Durov noted that TON has become one of the leading blockchains for NFT activity, boasting some of the highest daily trading volumes.

The network’s native token, Toncoin, hit an all-time high of $8.25 in mid-2024 before retreating more than 67% from that peak. Still, Durov said the growth of TON demonstrates that blockchain innovation can thrive outside traditional frameworks, much like Bitcoin did in its early days.